The media must put its house in order

The media must put its house in order

Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta

Despite its shortcomings, the Indonesian media, since
deregulation in 1998, is now relatively free, as should be the
case in a democracy. With this new freedom the media can manage
its own affairs and act as a counterbalance to the power of
government and vested interests.

The media gained a fair measure of freedom when in 1998 former
President B.J. Habibie scrapped regulations requiring the media
to apply for permits. The media gained even more freedom under
Habibie's successor, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who dissolved
the despised Ministry of Information that had been used as a tool
repressive control by the Soeharto-led New Order regime.

Since then, the media, seizing upon the new freedom brought
about by the reform movement, changed its role from being a
mouthpiece of the government to being a critical watchdog, like
the media in Western countries. Barking headlines, hard-biting
editorials, sharp commentaries, satirical cartoons and
investigative exposes are now common features of our media.

This media freedom took place alongside a greater freedom of
expression enjoyed by people generally, who are now free to
criticize the government for abuse of power or poor public
services without fear of arrest. For its part, the media has
vigorously reported public grievances and started discussing
other matters previously considered taboo, like the military and
the life of the president's family.

However M. Budyatna, a communications professor at the
University of Indonesia, has claimed that there has been no
significant change in the way the media operates, except for a
greater freedom enjoyed by journalists and executives of the
media to undertake their journalistic duties and run their
businesses. Budyatna referred to the failure of the media in
general to promote the basic rules of journalism such as
accuracy, balanced reporting, and comprehensiveness; to draw a
clear lines between opinion and fact; to act as a forum for
exchanges of opinion; and to represent diversity in society in
terms of gender, ethnicity, language and religion.

Criticism against the free media, which began to emerge in
1999, has grown louder by the day, with critics, including
members of the media, agreeing on one thing -- a need for the
media to be more introspective and to improve professionalism.

Upset by the free media, certain sections of the elite have
reacted in various ways. Some have mobilized mobs to attack
journalists and media offices, while others used more
sophisticated ways -- by filing legal suits against the media. In
2000, supporters of Gus Dur attacked the office of Jawa Pos, a
Surabaya-based newspaper, on allegations that it was being
partisan.

The Jawa Pos incident is only one of dozens of cases pitting
the media against certain elites over the past seven years,
including Rakyat Merdeka daily vs. former President Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Rakyat Merdeka vs. former speaker of the House
of Representatives Akbar Tandjung; Tempo weekly magazine and its
sister publication Koran Tempo daily vs. the tycoon Tomy Winata,
Tempo vs. businessman Marimutu Sinivasan and Tempo vs. the
Pancamarga youth organization; and Kompas vs. Marimutu Sinivasan.
Some of the cases ended in court with whopping payouts being
awarded; others were settled out of court.

The stark rise in the number of disputes between the media and
certain elites and media trials -- compounded by the use of
draconian laws by a notoriously corrupt legal system that
categorized libel as a criminal act -- has sparked concern among
both Indonesians and foreigners. Former U.S. ambassador to
Indonesia, now U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz,
recently warned in the New York Times of the possible negative
implications of media trials on a free media and the infant
democracy in this nation of 225 million people.

So what must the Indonesian media do?

Firstly, the media must put its house in order. Much higher
standards must be introduced into newsrooms, as well as the
setting up internal control mechanisms like the establishment of
complaints committees and improvement in the professionalism of
journalists and managers through better training and education
programs. Building standards in reporting and improving control
systems is relatively easy to do, but training needs time,
funding and good planning.

Secondly, the media must learn to treat the reading and
viewing public with respect and dignity through accurate, factual
and balanced reporting, with immediate correction or
clarification of errors - a practice ignored by many media
organizations on the grounds that corrections could tarnish their
image.

Thirdly, it is time for executives and owners of media
organizations to organize and talk with like-minded people who
are also concerned with freedom of the media and democracy, and
to launch public education campaigns on the role of the media,
something that has been largely neglected in the past.

No less important is that the media must immediately initiate
talks with credible representatives of the public and government
to find a style of reporting compatible with our society and
culture that does not compromise the media's critical role.

The need to embark on these steps is supported by latest
developments concerning the media, including the upgrading to
portfolio status of the ministry information and communications,
and the `invitation' by the presidential office to executives of
two media firms last Thursday and Friday for a meeting with
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. During the meeting Susilo
reportedly reiterated his displeasure with the media for reports
critical of his government.

These matters should be in the thoughts of senior journalists
who will be holding a meeting in Pekanbaru, Riau in commemoration
of National Press Day on Feb. 9, an appropriate moment to engage
in a little introspection. Before it's too late, the media must
put its own house in order. Before others do the job for them.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post and can be
contacted at opinion@thejakartapost.com.